Cost Of Living in Shields, MI

The cost of living index is based on a national average of 100. For example, if the cost of living is 90, then it is 10% lower than average. If the cost of living is 110, then it is 10% higher than average. The breakdown for each index is as follows: goods & services (33%), groceries (13%), health care (5%), housing (30%), transportation (9%) and utilities (10%). If the cost of living data was unavailable for this city, estimates based upon nearby cities were used.
Index	Shields	Michigan	National
Cost of living	95	89	100
Goods & Services	102	93	100
Groceries	103	99	100
Health care	102	93	100
Housing	83	74	100
Transportation	100	97	100
Utilities	94	101	100

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Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in Shields is 7% higher than the Michigan average
The cost of living in Shields is 5% lower than the national average
Shields housing is 17% lower than the national average
Michigan general sales tax is 18% higher than the national average
Michigan state income tax is 64% higher than the national average

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Price difference in compared to

Cost of living index
Goods & Services index
Groceries index
Health care index
Housing index
Transportation index
Utilities index

Median Income & Debt-To-Income Ratio

Median Income	Per Year	Per Month	Max Budget (28% DTI)	Max Budget (36% DTI)
Owners	$76,125	$6,344	$1,776	$2,284
Renters	$42,969	$3,581	$1,003	$1,289

A good way to judge both the affordability of the housing and the cost of living in Shields is by simply calculating the maximum that should be spent on housing, otherwise known as the debt-to-income ratio (DTI). The plan is to avoid spending more than 28 percent of the gross income on costs that pertain to housing and no more than 36 percent on all expenses and debts. Shields has a median income of about $76,125 for people who own homes. Based on that number, a maximum of $1,776 should be spent on expenses related to housing. Renters have a slightly different median income, which is $42,969. Based on this average, renters should spend no more than $1,003 on all rental costs if they want to maintain a non-impoverished standard of living.

Michigan Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Michigan	6%	6%

Michigan Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Michigan	4.25%	4.25%

Goods & Services

Item	Shields	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$16.80	$24.26	30.8%
Beauty Salon	$24.78	$45.56	45.6%
Toothpaste	$3.66	$3.70	1.1%
Shampoo	$1.13	$1.28	11.8%
Movie	$12.99	$12.13	7.1%
Bowling	$12.33	$18.00	31.5%

Groceries

Item	Shields	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$5.75	$5.84	1.5%
Fried Chicken	$1.41	$1.57	10.4%
Milk	$4.78	$4.67	2.3%
Potatoes	$4.80	$4.93	2.8%
Pizza	$8.99	$12.09	25.6%
Beer	$9.04	$10.41	13.2%

Health Care

Item	Shields	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$85.00	$125.68	32.4%
Doctor	$103.33	$135.78	23.9%
Dentist	$91.00	$113.29	19.7%
Ibuprofen	$10.22	$10.65	4.1%
Lipitor	$490.11	$468.60	4.6%

Housing

Item	Shields	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$139,700.00	$184,700.00	24.4%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,709.07	$2,346.69	27.2%
Apartment Rent	$951.00	$949.00	0.2%

Transportation

Item	Shields	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$3.35	$3.46	3.1%
Tire Balancing	$56.00	$59.92	6.5%

Utilities

Item	Shields	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$219.20	$193.99	13.0%
Phone	$184.44	$192.25	4.1%

Although the cost of living data is updated regularly, this cost of living information is to be used as estimates only as prices can change on an ongoing basis.

Nearby cities with low cost of living

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Robin Glen-Indiantown, MI	710	81	18.5%
Saginaw, MI	48,407	82	17.8%
Buena Vista, MI	6,401	83	17.1%
Bay City, MI	32,892	84	15.8%
Bridgeport, MI	6,208	84	15.5%
Shields, MI	7,301	95	4.7%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Devils Lake, ND	7,302	86	14.1%
Carneys Point, NJ	7,302	99	1.3%
Longboat Key, FL	7,299	173	73.4%
Paloma Creek South, TX	7,299	124	23.9%
Northport, NY	7,297	169	68.8%
Shields, MI	7,301	95	4.7%

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2023 and was released from C2ER in January, 2024; this is the most current data available.

Cost of Living in Shields, MI